


Lean Down and Let Me Kiss You

by durminedo



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-27
Updated: 2013-11-27
Packaged: 2018-01-02 19:03:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1060429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/durminedo/pseuds/durminedo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It came out of nowhere. </p>
<p>"Rei-chan."</p>
<p>"Nagisa-kun...?"</p>
<p>"I want to kiss you."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lean Down and Let Me Kiss You

It came out of nowhere.

They had just gotten off the train after having dinner with the rest of the swim club at Haruka's house, and Rei had invited Nagisa to stay the night. The sun hung low in the sky, but the summer air was warm and it clung to their skin like a never-ending hug, pleasant and comforting. Rei and Nagisa walked beside each other, their shoulders almost touching, surrounded by a relaxed silence.

Rei was caught up in his own thoughts about what to study first that night, and he failed to notice that Nagisa had started to fall behind. It wasn't until he was a few feet ahead that he realized the boy was no longer at his side. He turned, and Nagisa was staring at him. His fists were clenched, his eyebrows drawn together, and Rei wondered what he had done wrong. He had never seen Nagisa look so...serious.

"Nagisa-kun? Is everything alright?" Rei took a step closer. Nagisa's gaze did not flicker.

There were a few seconds of silence. This was not the same kind of silence as before though, no, that silence was friendly, but this was different. It was intense. Nagisa's eyes were boring a hole into Rei, and Rei couldn't understand why. Yet despite his confusion, he flushed slightly. He wasn't used to being looked at in such a way. Especially not by Nagisa.

Nagisa finally spoke up, and Rei's heart pounded, loud and clear in his chest. His voice matched his gaze, firm and unwavering.

"Rei-chan."

"Nagisa-kun...?"

Suddenly, Nagisa's expression completely changed, and he looked more like himself again. His eyes softened, but there was something in them Rei couldn't pick out. He smiled, but it wasn't the usual goofy grin Rei had grown weak to. This smile was like nothing Rei had ever seen before, gentle, but completely genuine, completely Nagisa, and Rei was sure by then his ears were red too.

"I want to kiss you."

Rei said nothing.

It wasn't that Rei didn't want to say something, it was that he couldn't. His thoughts were shooting through his mind so fast they were crashing into each other and tumbling over. He was thinking so much it was like he wasn't thinking at all. What would be the appropriate response to this situation? He hadn't planned for this. There was no theorem that would point out the correct course of action in this situation, no formula that would tell him what to do. Rei was in an unknown territory against an enemy he hadn't studied, left on the battlefield without a weapon.

"Um."

Nagisa finally tore his gaze away from Rei, focusing on his hands instead. He tangled his fingers together, fiddled with his thumbs, before taking one hand to scratch behind his ear. He chuckled.

"That was such a weird thing to say! Sorry, Rei-chan. It's just..." He looked back up at Rei with that soft expression, those honest fuchsia eyes, and Rei felt like he was on fire.

"You looked so beautiful."

Rei's face kept growing hotter and he wondered if maybe, he really was on fire. If someone were to touch him, would they burn?

_Beautiful_? All he had been doing was mull over whether he should read his English textbook for an hour first or go through it after he spent some time reading up on his geography. He had been concentrating, so his forehead must have been creased, with his back slightly hunched over as he thought. He didn't see what was particularly beautiful about that.

Yet, he still couldn't find what to say.

Nagisa shrugged and forced more laughter. The sun shone on his hair like specks of gold. "Just forget I said anything, okay, Rei-chan? It must be all the mackerel I ate making me say weird things." If his eyes weren't deceiving him, Rei could pick out hints of red on the blonde's cheeks, and across the top of his nose. It was a small nose, upturned at the tip just slightly. It was a cute nose.

Rei blushed even more. His neck was probably red now, too. Not beautiful at all.

Unsettled by his silence, Nagisa tilted his head just a bit, a habit of his, and took a good look at Rei.

"I must've really upset you, huh...You're so mad you're as red as a strawberry." Nagisa sighed and focused his eyes on his bright purple sneakers. "I'm really sorry! I made you uncomfortable..." He turned his back to Rei, and his voice sounded almost shaky. It sounded wrong. "I'll leave now."

Rei's eyes followed Nagisa as he walked back towards the train station. What was he doing? What was he _supposed_ to do? He still didn't know. Nagisa's figure only grew smaller as the boy shuffled away, and Rei's heart ached. He watched as Nagisa rubbed his eye, then the other, and a question suddenly came to him: What did he _want_ to do?

One more look at Nagisa's shrinking silhouette and Rei knew exactly what it was he wanted to do.

He ran.

"Nagisa-kun!"

At the sound of his name, Nagisa turned, eyes wide and slightly red. Although a little out of breath, Rei caught up to him.

"Rei-chan?"

Rei straightened his back and cleared his throat. He had run after Nagisa without thinking it out properly---he hadn't even stretched---but this was what he wanted to do. This was the course of action he had decided to take, all on his own. Nagisa looked up at him curiously, fingers gripping the straps of his backpack tightly. Rei pushed his glasses up with his hand, and kept it over his face to cover at least the growing blush on his cheeks. He didn't dare look at Nagisa.

"You can."

"I can what?"

"Ah. Um. You can. Kiss me, I mean. I give you permission." He lowered his voice. "If you still want to, anyway...After such an inelegant display..."

To both his despair and relief, Nagisa giggled; the sound was high and cheery like a song more wonderful than any other. It was then Rei knew he had made the right choice. He peered down at Nagisa, who was just as red in the face as he was. Rei thought it endearing, and he found himself laughing too.

"Rei-chan is so cute!" He stopped laughing.

"C-cute?! I'm not---" He couldn't finish, because suddenly he had Nagisa's arms around his waist, holding tightly, and Rei forgot what he had been in the middle of saying. Nagisa laughed into his chest, then moved away to grin up at Rei.

"You're cute. Now put your arms around me, Rei-chan."

"I-I was about to do that!" Rei stuttered, terribly embarrassed as he obeyed orders and enveloped Nagisa in his arms.

"Good, good. Now...." Nagisa suddenly got a little taller, and Rei noticed he had shifted to standing on the tips of his toes. He brought his face closer to Rei's, closer than Rei had ever been with anyone, and Rei couldn't help but notice how long Nagisa's eyelashes were. It was so warm...

"Lean down a little and let me kiss you, okay?"

Rei complied. It was easier than he thought it would be. His lips slid over Nagisa's naturally, as he tilted his head slightly to avoid the embarrassing issue of bumping noses. It was a completely new experience, but Rei didn't have to think about what he was doing at all. Because it was Nagisa he was kissing, the boy that had been so intent on getting him to join the swim club, the boy who had called him beautiful...Rei felt comfortable. He let his eyes slip closed and enjoyed the moment, appreciated the texture of Nagisa's dry lips, the way Nagisa moved his arms up to wrap them around his neck, his scent...sweet strawberry.

With a heavy breath, Nagisa pulled away. He was grinning ear to ear, and Rei wanted to kiss him again. Before he could, Nagisa had shimmied out of his arms and left Rei feeling a little colder than before.

"I should go! The train should arrive soon..."

Rei frowned. "I thought you were staying over?"

Nagisa's eyes almost looked like they were sparkling. "You still want me to?!"

"Of course!" Rei adjusted his glasses. "I was the one who invited you to my home in the first place."

Nagisa tackled Rei with a fierce hug, and leaned up to kiss him on the cheek. A little color returned to Rei's cheeks. The effect Nagisa had on him was too much.

"We should go, then! It's getting kinda dark..." Nagisa pulled away from Rei again, and glanced up at the sky. "You looked so pretty in the sunset lighting, too..." He pouted.

Rei stared. "Is that what you meant about me looking beautiful?"

Nagisa giggled and winked at him. "Yes. Though Rei-chan, you look beautiful all the time. Even that one time you stepped on dog poop during our morning run and you made a face that looked like you were about to fall over and die."

Rei grimaced at the memory, but Nagisa's words made him feel a fluttery sensation in his stomach. "I...I'm flattered..."

Nagisa offered his hand out to Rei and smiled. "Hold my hand on our way home?"

Rei flushed and nodded as he took Nagisa's hand in his own. It wasn't very soft, but it wasn't very rough either...it fit quite nicely. Rei could only hope his palm wasn't too sweaty. That would be terribly humiliating.

After a few minutes of listening to Nagisa chatter about one of his sisters and her new boyfriend, Rei couldn't keep the question that had been burning at him in any longer.

"Nagisa-kun..."

"What is it, Rei-chan?"

"Are...are we...boyfriends...now?"

Nagisa looked up at him earnestly. The sun was starting to go down, and Rei couldn't see his eyes as clearly as before. "Do you want to be?"

"Yes." The word slipped out from Rei's lips too quickly. Nagisa laughed and Rei wanted to slap himself upside the head. Nagisa pressed himself closer to Rei's side, and intertwined their fingers together.

"Then we're boyfriends now."

Rei smiled to himself. "That makes me happy."

Nagisa noticed the smile and suddenly quickened his pace, pulling Rei along.

"N-Nagisa-kun? What's the rush?!"

"We've got to hurry up and get to your house so I can kiss you some more!"

Rei sputtered an objection but let himself be dragged home. Honestly, he couldn't wait.  

**Author's Note:**

> my first free! fic and my very first fic overall in a really long time. I hope I did a decent job!


End file.
